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Religious Networks of Tai Buddhists across the ChinaMyanmar Border1
Takahiro Kojima（Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University, Japan）
INTRODUCTION
This paper will explore the relationship between the local Buddhist practices of Tăi
people who cross the border between China and Myanmar and the religious policy of the two
countries, in which these movements are situated.2I shall explore the question of how the
monks and holu, experts in Buddhist rituals, migrate from Myanmar to revive their local
religious practices after the Cultural Revolution in China. The next question is how local
people recognise the Buddhist practices which originated from Myanmar. By answering these
questions, I will explore the practices of the border area between China and Myanmar, and
disclose an aspect of Myanmar Buddhism which is invisible from the viewpoint of national
religious institutions.
My research field, Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province,
China, is located on the China-Myanmar border (see Figure 1). One of the main groups in this
area is the Tăi people. Han Chinese call them Dai, and the Burmese call them Shan. The Tăi
people typically live in the basin valley areas, calledməŋin the Tăi language. The area where I
conducted my research is called Məŋ Mau. After the end of the nineteenth century, the Qin
dynasty and British colonial rulers started the process of boundary demarcation. As a result,
Məŋ Mau was divided, finding itself located in two countries, China and Myanmar.
Nowadays, the Chinese side of Məŋ Mau is part of Ruili city, while the Myanmar side forms
the Muse and Nanhkan districts.
Most of the Tăi people follow Theravāda Buddhism.Theravāda Buddhists mainly live in
mainland Southeast Asia and share a relatively homogeneous Pali canon. But the practice of
precepts and the manner of rituals are a little different. Groups sharing the same practices
have developed into sects.
Historically, among lay Buddhists it was the kings—being the greatest donors and
benefactors—who protected Buddhism. However, somekings also drove out monks who were
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regarded as heretics. These practices legitimisedthe Buddhist kings. Previous studies point
out that the Sangha was institutionalised in each country during nationbuilding, the objective
of which was the standardisation of Buddhist practices (Ishii 1986(1975);Tambiah 1976, p.
240).
Although their number is much smaller, they are found in Dehong and Xishuangbanna of
Yunnan as well. The way in which Buddhism spread into Dehong and
Xishuangbannaisdifferent. In the case of Xishuangbanna, Theravāda Buddhismentered via
northern Thailand from the end of the second half of the fifteenth century to thefirst half of
the sixteenth century (Liew-Herres et al. 2012, p. 48).Because of this historical process, we
find characteristics of northern Thai Buddhism in Xishuangbanna as well.
In the case of Dehong, there are four major sects, orkəŋ (Burmese: gaing). The Pɔitsɔŋ,
Tsoti, and Tole sects came from Myanmar between the fifteenth and nineteenth centuries and
the Yon sect came from northern Thailand in the fifteenth century (Jiang 1983, p. 345; Yan
1986, pp.457-458; Liu 1990, p. 425; Liu 1993, pp. 87-90;Zhang1992, pp.116-123; Zhang
1993, p. 75). As three of the four sects entered Dehong via Myanmar, the practices in Dehong
show strong influences from Burmese and Shan Buddhism. While the Pɔitsɔŋ and Yon sects
are relatively loose in keeping precepts, the Tole sect is stricter and the Tsoti sect is the
strictest of all.
The Pɔitsɔŋ and Tsoti sects were originally based in the centre of Myanmar, but they
moved to the region around Dehong after the Burmese kings judged them as being heterodox
(Yan 1986, pp. 457-458). On the other hand, the traditional lords of each basin in Dehong,
tsău fa, did not exclude any specific sect but rather protected each sect (Hasegawa 2009,
p.147). This situation allowed various sects to develop their own practices.
In the case of Myanmar, the Sangha organisation was established in 1980 by the
government. Due tothe Sangha organisationrecognising only nine sects, the local sects in
Məŋ Mau were not recognised as official sects and absorbed into them. This policy was
aimed atinstitutionalisinginnumerable local sects of Buddhism.
In the case of China, the institution of tsău fa was abolished after the founding of the
People’s Republic of China, and the Buddhist Association of Dehong started to manage
Buddhism in 1957. However, onlya year later, the Great Leap Forward (1958-60) began and
the Buddhist Association stopped functioning. During the period of the Cultural Revolution
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(1966-76), Buddhist practices in Dehong were suppressed because of the less tolerant
Chinese religious policy. After the Cultural Revolution, the freedom of religious belief was
recovered. Now the Ethnic and Religious Affairs Commission and the Buddhist Association
manage Buddhism under the guidance of the Communist Party.
The study of Theravāda Buddhist societies started in the 1960s. However, except for
Thailand, it was very difficult to conduct research in Theravāda Buddhist societies during the
Cold War period, and our understanding was limited to a small sample of the region. With the
opening of societies around the region and increased access to the field in recent years, some
scholars started working in the border areas and focused on the migration of monks across the
border(see Hayashi 2009).
In the process of religious revival after the Cultural Revolution, the Buddhist practices in
Xishuangbanna were restored due to the relationship with the Sangha in northern Thailand
(Hasegawa 1995, p. 68; Davis 2003, p. 99).
In the case of Dehong, previous studies (Zhang 1992, pp.22-24; Hasegawa 2009, pp.152155) pointed out that the monks from Shan State in Myanmar have played an important role
in the recovery of Buddhism after the Cultural Revolution. However, they did not refer to the
specific networks of local sects which cross the national boundary. Furthermore, they didnot
pay attention to the migration of holu who play important roles in Buddhism in Dehong.
In this paper, I introduce this new movement using data gathered by the author during
more than a year of fieldwork in villages around Ruili city. The main research was conducted
from 2006 to 2007 in TLvillage, with some preliminary trips in 2005 and supplementary
work from 2009 to 2011 in 118 temples and pagodas of Ruili city.3
FEATURES OF BUDDHIST PRACTICES IN DEHONG
Low Number of Monks and Novices
The local religious practices in Dehong have many things in common with Buddhist
practices in Southeast Asia, as they share the same Pali canon.However, the practice of
Dehong differs from other Theravāda Buddhist societies in the small number of monks and
novices(see Table 1).This is in contrast to their increasing number in Xishuangbanna, where
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Buddhists also experiencedthe Cultural Revolution’s impacts on their religion. Even when
compared with Cambodia,where Buddhist monks were murdered by the Pol Pot regime, the
number of monksand novices in Dehong is much lower.
Although all the villages in Dehong have a temple as in the rest of Southeast Asia,
most of the temples are uninhabited. According to this author’s field survey in 2009, of the
118 religious buildings in Ruili—112 temples, three pagodas, and three footprints of
Buddha—twenty-nine (25 percent) were inhabited by monks, novices, or women lay
practitioners and eighty-nine (75 percent) were uninhabited. These figures raise the question
of why the number of monks and novices is so much lower in Dehong than in other
Theravāda Buddhist societies. To answer this question we must look at men who are ordained
as well as the villagers who accept them.
A local historian, Mr. G, (sixty-eight years old) who was familiar with the cultures of
both Ruili and Xishuangbanna explained that the number of monks and novices in
Xishuangbanna increased again after the Cultural Revolution because “they [people in
Xishuangbanna] have the idea that every boy should become a novice. However, this idea
didn’t exist in Dehong, even before the Cultural Revolution.”4 Previous studies state that it is
believed in Xishuangbanna that boys should become novices in order to be considered adults
(ZhongyangDangxiaoMinzuZongjiaoLilunshi 1999, pp. 453–454). From this evidence, we
see that to become a novice is a kind of rite of passage in Xishuangbanna, as in other
Buddhist societies. In the central part of Myanmar, for example, it is normal for parents to
have their sons ordained as novices so that they acquire an understanding of moral standards
in addition to making merit. Parents also make merit from having their sons ordained as
novices. But almost all novices disrobe after a certain designated period.
In Dehong, however, one hardly hears of parents having their sons ordained in order to
gain merit for the child or themselves. By no means does this signal that Buddhists of
Dehong are not enthusiastic about making merit. For example, people actively maintain the
cleanliness of temples even if there are no monks. They also participate enthusiastically in
Buddhist rituals in order to accumulate merit. However, their idea is that they should think
twice before making their sons ordain. If the sons wish, they may be ordained.Once they are
ordained, it is generally considered that they should not take the decision to disrobe
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lightly.Thus, the basic thinking in Dehong regarding ordination is different from that
inThailand and the central part of Myanmar.
When I interviewed an elderly villager, Mr. J,(seventy-five years old, male) in TL
village, he explained to me, “Many villagers hoped to invite a monk before the Cultural
Revolution, but the young generation born during or after the Cultural Revolution prefer not
to invite monks.”5This indicates that before the Great Leap Forward, TL village had practices
similar to those of other Theravāda Buddhist societies in that it needed monks and novices.
The point of difference is that few boys in TL village became novices even before the
Cultural Revolution. Therefore, TL villagers had to invite an abbot from another temple of
the same sect if the abbot was absent. However, the interruption of the practice for around
twenty years took away TL villagers’ enthusiasm to invite abbots. Therefore, without resident
monks, Buddhist rituals are performed by virtue of the direct relationship between the lay
community and their Buddhist scriptures, Buddha images, andPagodas.
The Role of Holu
In particular,holu,lay experts in reciting Buddhist scriptures, play important roles as
mediators in this relationship.Holu are basically specialists in the recitation of Buddhist texts,
with their main function being to represent the lay community in their merit-making activities.
Ho means ‘leader’, and lu means ‘donation’. In Ruili every temple has one holu, and all of
them are men. In 2009, the holu of TL village lived in another village but came to TL village
when rituals were held. Eighty-six percent of holu in Ruili were from other villages.
When there is a ritual, holu lead the villagers in reciting the five or eight precepts to
theBuddha statue in the temple. In the case of a wedding ceremony, housewarming ceremony,
funeral, or incident of misfortune, holurecite in front of the shelf of Buddhist texts (seŋtala)
in each house. In the afternoon on the days of important ceremonies—such as the Water
Festival, the festival to donatekathinarobes (pɔikan thin), and the special holy days (van sin)
during the rainy season retreat (va)—holu recite the Buddhist texts (tala) for laypeople. The
content of talarecited by theholu consists of stories of the Buddha’s past lives (tsat to),
precepts that should be upheld by Buddhists, and the proper ways of making offerings. These
are recited first in short Pali verses, followed by Tăi translation delivered in storytelling style,
so as to make the content easily accessible to followers. People acquire an understanding of
the Dhamma (dănma) and also gain merit from listening to these recitations. When there are
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no rituals,holu copy the talaas requested by villagers. After holu recite the tala in the temple,
the villagers keep the actual texts in theseŋtala. Most holuare farmers, but some of them have
another job, for example, such as typing invitation letters in Tăi.
MIGRATION FROM MYANMAR TO CHINA
Migration of Monks
The Buddhist rituals are preformed mainly by holu in ninety-nine temples (84 per cent)
of the 118 temples, but nineteen villagers (16 per cent) have felt the need for monks and
novices in the villages. Why do the villagers invite them? The reasons for doing so are not the
same.
In the case of MA village, when there are funerals or rituals for building new houses, it is
better for the villagers to invite a monk to their own temple than to invite one from other
temples. In LP village, when many villagers and domestic animals died consecutively in the
village, the villagers were very afraid of the evil spirits, phi hai, and invited a monk from
Myanmar. In the case of VM village, when they built a new temple, the villagers thought that
they had better invite the monks to keep the temple clean.
After these villagers reach the decision to invite a monk, they go to a temple on the
Myanmar side of the border, usually a temple of the same sect (kəŋ), and invite a monk to
come and take up the abbotship.The advantage ofstaying in the temple on the Chinese side is
that the monks can collect more donations than on the Myanmar side.Some monks hope to
study Chinese because they regard it as amajor language.
It is common practice that the monks are invited from Myanmar. According to my 2009
research, of the 116 monks and novices in Ruili, nineteen (16 percent) were from China and
ninety-seven (84 percent) were from Myanmar, especially Shan State.
After they become novices mostly in their native villages, they go to the central area of
Myanmar, for example, Yangon or Mandalay, to study the doctrine of Buddhism and take the
examination of Buddhism held by the Myanmar government (see Figure 2). This trend
became popular after the road connection was improved in Shan State after the 1970s.
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This is a sample case of Ven. V, the abbot of TS temple (see Figure 3). He was born in
LM village, Mansi district, KachinState in 1972.6When he was seven years old (1979), he
became a novice in MV village, KachinState. He became a monk in MV village when he was
twenty years old, and subsequently stayed in Yangon for three years, Mandalay for two years
and then went back to MV temple in KachinState. In 1999, he moved to TS village on the
Chinese side of the border.
The trigger for the TS villagers to invite him was the construction of a new temple in
1994. The villagers thought that it was appropriate to invite an abbot to manage the new
temple. They tried to invite a monk of the neighbouring temple to serve as the abbot but the
proposal was rejected by the monk because the temple belongs to a different sect, the Pɔitsɔŋ
sect. So, the villagers went to MV temple in KachinState, which belongs to the same sect.
The monks and novices of Pɔitsɔŋ sect move to the central area of Myanmar to receive
Burmese education in Buddhism, but they cross the border and move to the temple on the
Chinese side according to the network of local sects.
Theother circumstances under which the monks move from the Myanmar to the Chinese
side occur when they are invited by monks to whom they are known or when invited by
laypeople. Figure 4 shows the case of Ven. S, the abbot of HS temple.7He was born in MT
village, Thibaw district, Shan State in 1957. When he was nine years old (1966), he became a
novice and stayed in the temple of his native village for four years. He then moved to another
temple in Thibaw city (1970). When he was fifteen years old (1972), he moved to the
Burmese temple in Monywa. Subsequently, he stayed in Monywa for eight years, Mandalay
for eight years and passed the middle class of Pali examinations held by the Myanmar
government. When he was thirty-seven years old (1994), he met the abbot of HS temple by
chance in Mandalay. This was because many Burmese merchants in Ruili come to HS temple
to make donations. Even though the previous abbot was not proficient in Burmese,he
requested Ven. S to move to HS temple.After the previous abbot passed away, he became an
abbot of HS temple.
Migration of Holu
Next, how are holu recruited after the period of Cultural Revolution? I describe some
casestudies from TL village.
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The previous holu of TL village, Mr. J (seventy-five years old, male), recalled:
Before the Great Leap Forward, more people in the village becameholu
than now, because more people had the knowledge of reciting Buddhist texts
compared to now. If there was not a suitable person to become a holu in the
village, the villagers invited someone from another village.8
Even if a man has been a novice or monk, he cannot become a holu if he does not have a
good voice for reciting Buddhist texts.
After the Cultural Revolution, Mr. J became a holu in TL village. The following is his
personal story, focusing on his career as a ritual practitioner. Mr. J was born in TL village in
1932. When he was seven years old, he became a novice in the temple of TL village. When
he was seventeen years old, he disrobed andgot married in TL village. After the Cultural
Revolution, TL temple was rebuilt in 1984. At the time, Mr. J was fifty-two years old. As he
had had experience of being a novice and his recitation voice was good, the villagers let him
become a holu. He quit the practice in 1995 because his eyesight had deteriorated.
The holuof TL village from 1995 to 2011 was Mr. S.9 In 1967 he was born in LX village
of Muse District, Shan State. When he was twenty-one years old, he became theholu of LX
village at the suggestion of the villagers because he had been a temple boy, kappi, and had
basic knowledge of Buddhist texts. However, he did not know how to recite tala. He listened
to the recitations of other holu and learned from them. In 1990 he was invited to KL village,
on the Chinese side, as the previous holu had retired. In 1992 he married a woman who lived
in KL village and took Chinese nationality. In 1995, however, he quit being the holu of KL
village because his relationship with the villagers had soured. At that time, the TL villagers
invited him to be a holubecause Mr. J had retired.
The situation in TL village is acommon onein the aftermath of the Cultural Revolution.
My research in 2009 shows that out of 112 holu in Ruili city, eighty (71 per cent) holu are
natives from the Myanmar side of the border. Only thirty-two (29 per cent)of the holu are
from the Chinese side. Older people who have the experience or were ordained before the
Cultural Revolution were not able to continue as holu because of their advanced age. Most of
the young men replacing this older generation have become monks or novices in Myanmar,
and then moved to the Chinese sideasholu. Especially after the 1990s, local economic
development has taken off on the Chinese side, but on the Myanmar side conflict has
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continued and economic levels are low. Therefore, the number ofholu who hope to move to
the Chinese side is increasing.
The Networks of Local Sects
The third holu of TL village is Mr. T (see Figure 5).10He was born in a village of
Kutkaing district, Shan State in 1993. When he was thirteen years old, he was inducted by the
Kachin Independent Army (KIA). He escaped from the KIA soon after and became a novice
when he was fourteen years old, as the KIA didnot induct novices in the temples. The temple
he was ordained at was the main temple of the Tsoti sect in Mohnyin (Tăi: MəŋYaŋ),
KachinState. After staying at the temple for two years, he disrobed and moved to Ruili in
Dehong because his brother lived there as a holu. Soon after he moved to Ruili, the senior
holu of Tsoti sect introduced him to the TL villagers and he became a holu in the village.
The temple of TL village belongs to the Tole sect. Nevertheless, the reason that TL
villagers invited the holu of Tsoti sect is that the skill of reciting the texts byholu who have
been ordained at the temple of the Tsoti sect is highly valued by the people of Mǝŋ Mau. If
they are not a member of theTsoti sect, many holu in Mǝŋ Mau have attended the classes for
the Tăi verse of Buddhism which is held every year. All teachers of these classes have been
ordained in aTsoti temple. As this case shows, the network of the Tsoti sect is important for
the practice of holu.
Zhang (1992, pp. 149-152) describes the features of the Tsotisect as follows. Firstly,
monks and novices are led by one abbot and live together in one temple. Their temple of
residence is not fixed;they move to other temples after a certain period of time. The most
senior monk of the Tsoti sect at the time of the 2009 research lived in Mohnyin. In fact, the
temple of the Tsoti sect in Dehong had not had a resident monk since 1915, when the most
senior monk moved to Shan State. Secondly, monks and novices are required to obey the
precepts very strictly. For example, they are not allowed to ride in cars but have to walk when
they go out. Not only monks and novices, but laypeople as well are requested to obey the
precepts. For example, followers are not allowed to raise livestock, and they cannot eat meat
if they have witnessed the slaughter of the animals. Furthermore, laypeople are prohibited
from drinking alcohol.
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According to this author’s field surveys, villagers still adhered to these practices, except
that some now raised livestock. There was no Tsoti monk in Dehong, but followers made
donations to Mohnyin three times per year—during the Water Festival (pɔisɔnlăm), the
beginning of the rainy season retreat (xăuva), and the end of the rainy season retreat (ɔkva).
Donations from Dehong were collected at the Tsoti temple in Muse, and representatives took
them to Mohnyin. When the ordination ceremony is held in the central temple of Mohnyin
every three years, many villagers attend and some boys become novices as well.
A different feature from the case of the monks is that they donot take an examination of
Buddhism held by the Myanmar government because their practices follow Tăitradition.
They are educated in the ways of reciting and creating the Tăi verse of Buddhism (lăŋka).
As I have explained above, these sects in Dehong, Tsoti, Pɔitsɔŋ, Tole and Yon are not
recognised by the Sangha organisation in Myanmar which was established in 1980. It is also
said that all the sects in Dehong were united after 1982 in China. Despite the
institutionalisationof Buddhist sects in the two countries, local networks of the sects continue
and play important roles for the practices of local Buddhists. The monks and novices move to
the central area of Myanmar to take examinations, but on the other hand, they move to
temples and cross the border according to the network of local sects.
CHANGE AND CONTINUITY OF BUDDHIST
PRACTICES
As I have described above, the monks and holuwhomigrated from Myanmar are
indispensable tothe practice of local Buddhism in Ruili. As a result, the religious practices of
Myanmar are brought over to the Chinese side. How do local people view these practices?
This is elaborated uponusing TL village as a case study.
Practices of the Monks
The TL villagers did not invite a monk to take up position as an abbot. However,
when they need to,they go to Ven. S from HS village. For example, the villagers invite him
when they hope to exorcise evil spirits by reciting texts of protection (palit) and other chants
like kămpavaas part of the rituals of the whole village.Or when they are faced with
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difficulties in everyday life, or are not in good health and cannot be treated in the hospital,
they go to HS temple and meet Ven. S. He is wellknown for his skills in fortunetelling and
treating diseases caused by evil spirits in the body.
As I have described, Ven. S had the opportunity to go to Mandalay to study the
doctrine of Buddhism. However, he learned the methodology of fortunetelling and treating
diseases from the specialists among laypeople and monks when he was in Mandalay and
Thibaw. Ven. S brought these new practices with him when he crossed over to China.
When he is invited to exorcise evil spirits through rituals, he also preaches to the
villagers. But he has never been invited to TL village just to preach. This is in contrast to the
case in Myanmar. The laypeople in Myanmar often invite monks to listen to the Dhamma talk,
which is based particularly on Abhidhamma. Furthermore, the laypeople in Myanmar invite
the monk specialists of Vipassanā meditation which is regarded as an important practice and
has become popular in recent years. Ven. S is experienced in promoting the education of
Abhidhamma and practisingVipassanā in the central area of Myanmar. However, the
laypeople on the Chinese side do not demand the practices that are usually recognised as
being orthodox in Myanmar. Rather the villagers request monks to perform the rituals that are
important for their own everyday lives.
The Sangha organisation in Myanmar regards the practices of fortunetelling and
treating diseaseas something that monks should not be involved in. When I asked the Ven S.
why in such a situation he practised fortunetelling and the exorcism of evil spirits, he
answered, “these practices are needed for socialising with the laypeople.” This explanation
suggests that the monks also adjust their practices depending on the preferences of the
villagers.
Another factor affecting this phenomenon is the difference of policy between the two
countries. As I have described above, after the Sangha institutions were established in
Myanmar, the standardisation of Buddhist practices has been the aim and the monks are not
allowed to practise fortunetelling or treat disease. In Dehong, while the Chinese government
manages temples and monks, it does not try to manage the details of actual Buddhist practice.
These political circumstances allow the monks to develop the practices depending on the
demand of local people, a practice which is prohibited on the Myanmar side.
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Practices of Holu
So, how did the villagers perceive the practice of holuwho immigrated from
Myanmar?To answer this question, I will focus on the change and continuity of practices
concerning Buddhist texts.
Firstly, the Tăi phrases recited in rituals have been changed to the Shan style. The
phrases recited in the Pali language are basically the same in every Theravāda Buddhist
society, but the phrases in the local language are different in each area. Shan phrases were
standardised in 1993 at the Shan monks’ conference in Muse. New holu such as Mr. S
learned the standardised forms. Mr. S brought them to TL village when he became holuin
1995. Moreover, the script oftala also changed from the old Dehong script to the Shan script
because Mr. S was used to transcribing and reciting the Shan script.
On the other hand, the way in which Buddhist texts were recited did not change.
When Mr. S became holu of TL village, he recited Buddhist texts using the intonations of the
Tsoti sect (seŋkaloŋpɛn, seŋpeutɔn, and seŋ phi la).Later he learned the intonation of
traditional Mǝŋ Mau style (seŋThuŋ Mau)from previous holuand uses this for his recitations.
Why did the script oftala change, while the way of reciting did not? To analyse these
phenomena, we must understand the practices in which they occur. For the villagers, tala is
not something to read but something to listen to. Moreover, most of the villagers cannot read
the Shan script themselves, but they believe that if there is a tala in the seŋtala of each house,
the household will be safe and sound.
On the other hand, why did Mr. S have to change his way of reciting? When asked
about his reasons, he replied, “TL villagers were not used to theseŋkaloŋpɛnand requested me
to recite using seŋThuŋ Mau.” Listening to the recitation of tala by holuis an important
practice in making merit for TL villagers. The Buddhism of TL villagersis woven into the
story and recited melodiously by holu. Except for Mr. J, only three men have had the
experience of being novices in TL village. They know the Shan scripts and how to recite
them, but they cannot becomeholubecause their voices are not good enough. This implies that
the voice for reciting Buddhist texts is very important for the practices in Dehong, and new
styles from across the border are not easily accepted.
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CONCLUSION
Afterthe Cultural Revolution, the monks and holu immigrated from the Myanmar side
of the border because there were few specialists on the Chinese side for the particular way
they practiseBuddhism. Furthermore, because local economic development occurred at a
faster rate on the Chinese side after the 1990s, monks and holu also hoped to move there. The
Chinese side isa good place for the monks to collect donations and study Chinese, and the
holucan improve their economic standing as well.
When they move to the Chinese side, local networks of the sects take on an important
role. These local sects had officially disappeared, so much so that the Myanmar and Chinese
governments have started to regulate and control these sects by constructing the Sangha
organisation in Myanmar or a Buddhist association in China. Nevertheless the local networks
of Buddhism, which cross the border between China and Myanmar, still exist and play a
significant role for the local practice of Buddhism.
The migration of monks and holu from Myanmar brought the dynamics of the practice
to the Chinese side. The local villagers recognise the ability of the monks and holu from
Myanmar, but they do not feel the need to adopt all matters of orthodox knowledge or
doctrineauthorised by the Sangha in Myanmar. Instead they are led by their need for services
in the practice of fortunetelling or exorcising evil spirits,in which these monks are
knowledgeable and skilled. Holu are recognisedfor their ability in reciting the texts of
Buddhism, but they must adjust their intonation of reciting texts in accordance with the
preferences of the local villagers. This means that local people accept the Buddhist practices
from Myanmar partially, but they keep their on-the-ground practices intact to a significant
degree.
This case suggests the following. As some previous studies pointed out, the
institutionalisation of Theravāda Buddhism has progressed even in the border area between
China and Myanmar. On the other hand, we must pay attention to the interaction between
political power and the practice of local people to understand the religious dynamics of
border areas.
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1
The transliteration method is byMeng (2007).
Some of the description of Tăi people’s practice overlaps with my paper (Kojima 2012), but the points
of discussion in this paper are different.
2
3
The name of the villages, for example TL, MA, LP and VM villages are pseudonyms.
4
Interview in Ruili city. Interviewed by Takahiro Kojima, Ruili city, China, 4 February 2006.
5
Interview in Ruili city. Interviewed by Takahiro Kojima, Ruilicity, China, 27 January 2007.
6
Interview in Ruili city. Interviewed by Takahiro Kojima, Ruilicity, China, 18 November 2006.
7
Interview in Ruilcity. Interviewed by Takahiro Kojima, Ruilicity, China, 19 March 2005.
8
Interview in Ruilicity. Interviewed by Takahiro Kojima, Ruilicity, China, 27 January 2007.
9
Interview in Ruili city. Interviewed by Takahiro Kojima, Ruili city, China, 25 March 2005.
10
Interview in Ruilicity. Interviewed by Takahiro Kojima, Ruili city, China, 10 August 2011.
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